"This is not a joke cookbook." says the intro. It's true: the recipes look legit (I love the ghost sheet cake with the flaming eyes), and there is a lot of actually good advice. Although, stick-in-the-mud that I am, I was a little put off by some of the references to substance use.

The main philosophy of the book is to make your guests happy and comfortable, and not feel out of place. That's good etiquette. But this particular hostess will go out of her way to accomplish that, with suggestions that, if followed to the letter by a normal (boring) person with regular friends, will get a few odd looks. Creative, yes. Attempt in real life? Hmmm. I suppose if you're in an artistic group then this just might work for you. People will love how Dada it is (shock value! how unusual!) Think ghetto-Martha. So proceed to read with tongue firmly in cheek, because that's how many sections seem to have been written.

I imagine this is what kind of hostess I'd be if I planned and threw a party while inebriated: earnest, intense, well-meaning, but a little wacky, and any filters/censors dissolving by the third glass of strong punch. Like My Drunk Kitchen, but doing a better job at covering up the alcohol/pot fumes and putting on a pretty face.

Interesting format: a cookbook with farcical scenarios and hospitality suggestions. For instance, what menu should you plan if you are having a group of lumberjacks over for a meal?

If you, like Amy, have a rich uncle unexpectedly drop in needing a place to stay for the weekend, remove your earrings and insert a broom straw in the ear hole. When your Rich Uncle asks why you have broom straws in your ear, tell him that you are saving up for a pair of earrings. After he goes to bed, make sure to heat up rocks to place on the pillow to keep his head warm while he sleeps.

It costs money to entertain so always have a flea market table in your house. This not only can get you some cash, but also clears clutter.

Before a party, load your medicine cabinet with marbles.

The recipes sounded good, too. Haven't tried any yet.

Very entertaining as an audiobook. The sound affects are funny. Hard to get the recipes but that's okay. I tried not to snort out loud as I listened to this at work. I don't think it would have been as funny as a printed book.

AMY SEDARIS IS BRILLIANT!!!! This book is beautiful and amazing. I struggled with the decision of getting the audio book or the hardcover...and although I am sure the audio book is hilarious, the detail in the hardcover was too good to pass up. Amy's brand of sardonic wit flows over beautiful photographs, cute drawings, and secret family recipes.

I love that she has collected things from her family and friends to include in her book and had them help in the creation and look of the book as well. Also, I am a sucker for David Sedaris and finding recipes and drawings from his Hugh in this book made me shed a little tear.

It is truly a unique entertainment guide. Everyone should throw more fabulous parties because of this book. French party, my house, bring a beret, champagne, but no freedom fries please.

I like that you like me and I like you too.

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Boy oh boy this one really left me in a quandary.

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I read this book a while ago . . . and it gave me a sad so I didn’t write a review. My love for Amy Sedaris goes back a long time. Before she was all cute on “Elf” or doing guests spots on my new fave T.V. show “Broad City”

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I loved her as Jeri Blank. Totally inappropriate, menopausal, high school student, Jeri Blank.

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I wasn’t prepared to not love this book. I had to take some time and come to terms with what I was feeling.

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I mean, Amy Sedaris is n  hilariousn. Even without a series of her own or roles in movies, she’s always being invited on the late night talk shows. And you know why???? Because she does things like make treats that look like cat shit when she’s on Fallon:

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or allows Coco to bash her upside the head:

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For a solid 15 years of me being a fan, Amy has always been so uproariously funny – never taking herself seriously. Unfortunately her book kind of does. There are intro pages to the various types of dining occasions and some pages of random anecdotes and various craft projects that bring the ha-ha, but for the most part this is just a bad cookbook. A REALLY bad cookbook (and trust me when I say I don’t need any more help being a bad cook *ba-dum ching*). It was all just . . .

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So it is with heavy heart I write this review. Amy – please know I still love you (and your brother David). I will gladly wear you as a skin suit grovel at your feet and beg to be your BFF, should we ever meet.

Being a big fan of both David and Amy Sedaris, I was really looking forward to reading this book. I was a bit disappointed. The book is a bit unfocused, and seems to be trying to be both a parody and a serious hostess book. I thought about trying some of the recipes, but there wasn't anything really unique. Most were pretty straightforward, until I came to things like the list of snack suggestions, which included Crisco rolled in sugar, and various things dipped in various other things. The food photographs seemed to be intentionally channeling the Betty Crocker books of the 1960s, and so looked dated and unappetizing in general. The section on feminine hygiene pushed me over the edge. That's when I decided to return the book to the library, recipes untested. As a fan, I'm kind of sorry I read this book, but since it wasn't that memorable, I should be over it soon.

If you love leafing through old Betty Crocker cookbooks from the 60s and 70s, this might just be up your alley. Clearly written with tongue in cheek (and martini in hand), this book apes the graceful pen-and-ink sketches, household tips, menus that capture a time gone by, and entertainment suggestions of cookbooks past. In the introduction, Sedaris states that she hates joke cookbooks, and the recipes are clearly not jokes, although the art (glorious photographs of a 3-tiered lunchmeat "cake") and surrounding materials are likely not to be taken seriously. Most of the text was skimmable, with only a few passages funny enough to be read aloud.

Rating is for the audiobook only. This would probably be better in paper/ebook format. There are a lot of recipes, which are obviously hard to follow when you're listening in the car. I may have to check out the paper or ebook format.

There are a lot of funny lines!

I absolutely loved this book, Amy Sedaris is awesome to say the least! Part legitimate hospitality and party book, part parody of said books from the 1950s through the 1970s. A fun read and I'm pretty sure that after this, Amy Sedaris is my spirit animal!

Speaking of David Sedaris, I recently selected his sister's entertaining book with a Target gift card I got as a housewarming gift, and I started reading it before I was quite done with Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress. To be fair to Susan Gilman, it's kind of hard to make lying your way into a private chocolate factory tour sound all that outrageous when the other book I'm reading has just provided me with instructions for turning a tampon into a cat toy. (As an aside, Harley would like to tell you that you don't really need to glue on the googly eyes as she suggests. All you need to do is unwrap it and leave it sitting on the bathroom counter for 2 second, then sit there shouting "Hey! Bring that back!" as he trots into the other room with it. He'd also like you to know that he prefers pads. I think it's the crinkly pink wrapper.) Amy Sedaris mixes in totally ridiculous, hilarious suggestions in with real, practical, classy entertaining advice. Sometimes it's hard to tell which is which, but I guess that is part of the fun! (Look for the tip jar at my next party.) And all of the recipes look great, too.

I fell in love with Amy Sedaris the first I saw Strangers with Candy, when I saw she had a cookbook I had to have it!

This book is filled with silly stories and funny pictures. It reminds me of my childhood, very nostalgic. Oh and there are some good recipes too! I've made a couple but somehow this book got buried on my regular bookshelf. Now that I moved it to the bookshelves in the kitchen I'll use it more often. :)